Life's Giving Curse
by Forbiddenrace1
Summary: When a near death experience ends up unraveling forgotten memories and hidden secrets, Naruto and Sakura must help old allies of the Leaf Village to stop an evil greater than the Akatsuki... NarutoxSakura, OCxOC. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

The cry of a baby echoed through the room. The mother and father smiled at the two babies. The woman had her kids a few months before but was very sick, so she was unable to see them until now. Their mother had long brown hair, red eyes, and slightly tinted sunglasses. She wore a green and black dress that looked to be a cross between a yukata and tai-chi style shirt. It was sleeveless and the collar went around her neck. She had two green and black long armbands on her forearms. She had black tabis on and a long black leg sock that ended mid thigh. She had a black dragon tattoo on her back that was covered by her dress. Their father had semi long, spiky brown hair, dark blue eyes, slightly tinted sunglasses, and a scar like tattoo but on his left eye. He wore a black body suit and loose black pants with a white obi, a brass left chest plate held by two brass straps, a brass elbow plate on each arm with short spandex sleeves under them, black knee high boots, and a black tattoo-like dragon going up his arm. Both the scar and the red eyes being of similar bloodline traits.

"Twins, a boy and a girl," Their mother smiled, "Hiroshi, aren't they beautiful?"

"The certainly are Kuroku," Hiroshi smiled back.

The boy had brown hair and red eyes like his mother and father but had a scar like tattoo mark on his right eye like his father. The girl also had brown hair and red eyes like both of her parents but also had a scar like tattoo mark on her right eye like her father.

"Don't you think that's strange?" Kuroku asked, "Usually the girls have the mark on their left eye."

"Don't worry about it dear." Hiroshi said, "I'm sure it's because they're twins so the mark ended up on her right like her brother's."

"I guess you're right." She said, still unsure.

"Well…what will their names be?" He asked.

Kuroku looked down and smiled.

"Our son shall be called Diem and our daughter-"

Kuroku stopped when she suddenly noticed that there was something wrong with the girl. She had remembered she hadn't cried since she had been with her parents and she had been coughing every so often. So Kuroku felt the girl's forehead and it was burning up. The girl's coughing became worse.

"Hiroshi, Hiroshi! She's really warm, and she's coughing!"

Kuroku began to panic.

"Calm down Kuroku, just calm down. We can figure this out. I'll go get my mother. She'll know what to do."

Hiroshi ran off looking for his mother while Kuroku waited for him to come back still in a panic causing Ryoku to cry in distress.

Hiroshi came back minutes later with his mother. She was old, had snow white hair, red eyes, slightly tinted sunglasses, and a scar like tattoo on her right eye. She wore a common red kimono with golden threads woven into it making a dragon on the side of it. Kuroku looked at Hiroshi's mother, tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong with her Natsuki?" She asked, "She looked fine when you gave her back to me."

Natsuki looked at the child carefully. Frowning she said, "Kuroku we need to bring her to Ryu."

Terror struck Kuroku's eyes.

"Kuroku don't get upset." Natsuki said calmly, "You'll just make things worse."

Kuroku calmed down and nodded. Hiroshi took Ryoku and Kuroku held their baby girl in her arms who just kept her eyes tightly shut, still coughing.

The three adults ran as fast as they could up the mountain side, Kuroku frequently stopping to catch her breath. As she did she looked across the land she called home. The small village she lived in was quiet and peaceful, for the moment. She lived in the Village Hidden in the Shadows. She had lived in this village all her life, but it was no long the peaceful little village she once knew. The Tsukikage she grew up to love and know as the village's leader and protector had recently past away, and a new man had come and taken him place. But this man was not kind like the previous Tsukikage. He was a tyrant and had his own ambitions that had hurt the village gravely. The people suffered and she could no longer bear it. She wished she could just leave and start in a new place, but that wish could not be granted. Her family, Hiroshi's family, and another family were followers of the Great Dragon Ryu. He watched over them and protected them as long as they were willing to follow him and protect his place of rest.

Kuroku finally caught her breath and caught up with Hiroshi and Natsuki who where a little ways up. They continued to the cave. Natsuki quickly stopped by a rose bush and cut off a rose.

"Just in case," She mumbled.

Kuroku became very nervous again. Hiroshi looked at her to reassure her that everything will be fine. He knew it might not be because he knew more about rituals than Kuroku did, and, if his mother grabbed a piece of a ritual, it would possibly happen.

--

They reached the mouth of the cave where two guards where standing. One was a woman and the other was a man. The woman had short brown hair, wore a purple tank top that stopped halfway down the waist and long dark blue samurai pants. She carried a Wo Dao on her left side. The man had long blonde hair, wore a white wife beater and blue jeans. He carried a few shuriken and kunai in a small pouch on his side.

"What is your business here?" Asked the woman, "It's not your time to come back. You're just barely well again and you have children to take care of."

"You also have two six-month olds with you. You know the rules. Children must be at least a year old before they can come here and even then they can only come if they are summoned by Ryu for their first meeting." The man said.

"We have an urgent problem that Ryu needs to see," Natsuki said calmly, "It involves the children."

The two guards exchanged looks, nodded and moved aside. Kuroku, Hiroshi, and Natsuki walked inside and followed a poorly lit path down to an open area that was had much better lighting.

There were many people standing around, all looking at them as they walked in. A small boy, about two years of age came running up to Kuroku. Kuroku knelt down to look at him. He had Short blonde hair and had an eye patch over his left eye. He wore a bluish-purple vest, no shirt underneath, black jeans, had a red tattoo-like dragon on his body that wrapped around his chest up to his neck and wore no shoes. Kuroku watched as he wiggled his bare toes in the loose dirt.

"Hello Ryoma," Kuroku sweetly said.

"Hi Mrs. Tatsuya," He smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"My daughter is sick," She calmly said showing him the baby, "I was hoping Ryu could help her."

"She's pretty," He said, "I hope he can help. I'd be sad if he couldn't."

Kuroku was puzzled.

"Why is that?"

"Because then her and I couldn't be friends… that is, if something bad happened to her."

Ryoma seemed to know something was really wrong with her daughter. He had always been able to figure things like that out. He had some very special gifts that helped many people out. Sensing problems like this one was one of them.

"Kuroku," Hiroshi said coming over to her, "It's time to see him."

Kuroku nodded and got up.

"It was nice speaking with you Ryoma," She said.

"You too, Mrs. Tatsuya," He smiled.

Kuroku walked with Hiroshi to the front of the area they were in. A woman came over and asked if she could hold on to their son until things were done. Kuroku happily agreed. She wore a black and white top with a half-sleeve on the right arm and no sleeve on the left with a long black skirt with a white dragon coiled on the right side. She had long brown hair and purple eyes. This woman was Sasaki Rain, who was Ryoma's mother. Rain and Kuroku grew up together so she had no problem with her taking their son. She knew Rain would look after him well.

Rain walked away with Ryoku and sat down by a wall. Rain walked over to her and looked at Ryoku and smiled. He said something to his mother but Kuroku was to far away to hear it, but she assumed it was something good since nothing that came out of that boy's mouth was ever bad.

"Are you ready?" Hiroshi asked her.

Kuroku nodded. They walked to a small alter where a group of people had gathered. Hiroshi looked at each of them and then started to chant and make hand signs. Kuroku began to chant with him and soon enough the rest of the group did as well. The lights dimmed as they chanted. A bright light blasted and a large black and white dragon appeared. He was black on one side, and white on the other, was long and slender, and had a few markings on his snout, hands and feet, a few of those markings being a yin yang symbol.

Two giant wolves appeared out of the shadows and sat near him. One was a black male, a little bigger than the other, and the other was a white female who was a little smaller than the male. The male had a single scratched scar down his left eye and the female had tree scratched scars over her snout.

Ryu looked down at Hiroshi and Kuroku.

"What is it that you need?" Ryu asked.

Hiroshi stepped forward to speak but Kuroku impulsively ran up to Ryu and spoke, tears in her eyes.

"Ryu, there's something is wrong with my daughter. She's sick or something. We came to you because we knew you would know what to do."

"Let me see her." Ryu said.

Kuroku reluctantly set her daughter down.

"Meian," Ryu commanded, "Please bring the child closer to me."

The black male wolf got up and walked over to the child. He picked her up gently by the neck of the white shirt she was leaving. The little girl just hung there quietly, occasionally coughing. Meian placed her down in front of Ryu and sat back down in the same spot he was before.

Ryu put his giant head close to her and looked at her carefully. The child looked up at him in awe. She smiled at him and reached up to touch him on the tip of his snout. She then reached over and pulled one of his long whiskers. Ryu jerked back a little, snorted from surprise and shook his head. The little girl smiled and laughed. A few chuckles were heard throughout the cave. Ryu smiled at the girl. She was very adventurous and didn't seem to fear his presence. He smiled at the thought of her becoming a great shinobi. The girl started to cough again and curled up into a small ball, as if trying to stop it.

Ryu frowned and looked a Kuroku. Kuroku then knew something bad was about to be said.

"Kuroku, I'm sorry," Ryu began.

"What, what is it Ryu? What is wrong with her? Can you help her?" Kuroku begged.

"You're daughter is very sick and there is no medical cure for it. At this rate she will only live to see her sixth birthday," Ryu said.

Kuroku fell to her knees, crying. Hiroshi came up to her and held her.

"Ryu, is there anything you can do to save our daughter?" Hiroshi asked.

"There is only one ritual that can save her." Ryu began, "But it's not guaranteed that she'll make it."

"I knew it," Natsuki said quietly to herself.

"Is it the only way?" Kuroku asked.

Ryu nodded, "I'm very sorry."

Hiroshi and Kuroku looked at each other and nodded.

"We'll do it," Hiroshi said, "If it is the only way we'll have a chance to watch our daughter grow up, then we'll do it."

"I will need a rose to perform the ritual," Ryu said.

"I have it right here," Natsuki said, holding it up.

"Yumei please bring the rose to me," Ryu commanded.

The white wolf got up and walked over to Natsuki. Natsuki willingly gave it to her. Yumei walked back to Ryu and placed the rose on the ground between the girl and the dragon.

"This ritual will require me to give up my freedom and will seal me within the girl's body," Ryu began. "My life force will keep her alive and will suppress the disease. Only she will be able to release me and if she does she will die soon after."

Everyone who was watching nodded. They understood what this meant. They would no longer protect the dragon himself but the host who held his essence inside.

"I warn you all, "Ryu said. "I do not want you to treat her any different than you would if she was not my host. She is still the same person and you will treat her like that."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Kuroku stepped forward.

"Ryu may I hold my daughter just incase it's the last time I hold her alive?" She asked.

Ryu nodded, "Of course."

Kuroku picked the child up and held her closely to her. Hiroshi came up next to her and held them both. They both wept at the thought of never seeing their daughter alive again. Kuroku whipped away her tears and put the child down. She looked at Ryu, signaling that she was ready.

"Kuroku, Hiroshi," Ryu said, "I want you to do something for me since I am doing this favor for you."

"What is it?" Hiroshi asked.

"If this girl lives, I want you to give her a certain name," He said.

"What name would you like us to give her?" Kuroku asked.

"Her name shall be Keitha," Ryu said.

And with those words Ryu took what looked like a spirit form of the rose and pulled it out of the rose itself. The rose turned grey and a bright light flashed.

* * *

**Yay suspense! Well I hope you like what I've come up with so far. Not that great, but I'll try to make it better as it goes along.**


	2. Chapter 2

A tall woman with medium length brown hair walked a beaten path. She wore a tan sleeveless trench-coat, a long, tight, black tank top, long, bunches up at the knee, tight black pants, pouch strapped to the right leg, knee high belted boots, an empty quiver to one side of her waist, and a loose chain belt with a dagger attached to it on the other side of her waist. She had a yin yang necklace, and a small sash that tied off on the leg with a small dark green kunai bag hanging off if it. A tattoo was located on her right eye that was mostly covered by white cloths around her eyes along with an Ankh on the inside of her right arm. A white cloth was wrapped around her left arm and hand that stopped at the elbow, a small white cloth wrap by her shoulder, and another white cloth wrapped around her right hand. Though many would think she couldn't see with the bandage over her eyes they'd be wrong, for reasons many people do not know.

She walked the beaten path she had walked for so long ago in the past. Everything was almost the same from when she left it. A few trees had fallen letting younger ones to grow in, birds were singing as all birds did, and nothing seemed out of place. As she walked she came to a house like building with brushes and vines coming out of it. It was very rundown and uncared for but still together enough to recognize what it was. She had found what she was looking for. She had found her home.

She began to tear at the brush and remove what she could. But just as soon as she started she heard a crumbling and then a scream. Immediately she stopped what she was doing and ran off in the direction of the scream.

--

"Naruto! Slow down before you hurt yourself," yelled a pink short-haired girl to a boy with short, spiky blond hair.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'll be fine," Naruto yelled back to her. He was crawling on a small ledge hundreds of feet above the ground trying to get to a large bee hive.

"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei told us not to get into trouble!"

"Oh, Sakura, stop worrying. Besides, when Kakashi sees me bringing this hive back with great honey, he won't have time to be mad."

"Yeah but-"

Sakura was cut off when she heard a crumbling noise. Naruto all of a sudden felt the ground tremble beneath him. His reflexes weren't quick enough and the ground crumbled away.

"NARUTO!" Sakura gasped.

She held her breath in terror, too scared to do anything. All of a sudden she saw a black flash and Naruto was gone. She looked around and saw a tall woman, with black clothes and brown hair, placing him on the ground. Sakura ran over to them.

Naruto sat on the ground in a daze. Sakura ran up to him and hit him over the head.

"OW!" Naruto yelled, rubbing his head.

"You idiot! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Sakura yelled at him.

"Well I didn't, now did I?" Naruto yelled back at him.

"You would have if that woman hadn't been around to save you." Sakura said.

Then the remembered the woman hadn't left. They both looked up at her who was standing by them and just looked that them, no expression at all.

"Naruto," Sakura whispered, "You should thank her."

Naruto nodded. He got up and looked at her, Sakura shortly following his actions.

"Thank you very much for saving me." Naruto said.

"You should listen to you friend more." She said, "You could have gotten seriously hurt and that would have made you sensei very angry, giving you even more trouble than you bargained for."

The woman then turned around and started to walk away.

"Be more careful next time." She said over her shoulder.

"Wait!" Sakura yelled, "What is your name?"

The woman stopped and looked at them.

"You want to know my name?" She asked, almost surprised.

"Yeah," Sakura said, "It's nice to know the name of someone who saves you team mate."

The woman hesitated. Then a rustling sound came from the bushes behind Sakura and Naruto. They all looked to see a tall man with a mask over his mouth, and long, spiky, grey hair, and a Konoha ninja headband on his forehead, slanted over his left eye, run out of the bushes.

"Sakura, Naruto, are you guys alright? I heard a-," he stopped when he saw the woman, "You…"

"Kakashi?" She woman asked, "Kakashi is that really you?"

"Yes," He nodded.

The woman all of a sudden looked up and saw three hawks flying over head.

"I'm sorry," She said turning around, "I have to go."

She walked off.

"Keitha wait!" Kakashi yelled after her.

She turned around.

"It was nice seeing you again." He said.

"You too Kakashi," Keitha said," You too."

A big dust cloud came whisking in front of Keitha and when it cleared away she was gone.

"Kakashi-sensei, who was that?" Sakura asked.

"Let's just say she's an old friend." He said quietly.

Sakura and Naruto looked at each other and shrugged. Everyone was quiet. Then Kakashi turned around and hit Naruto on the head.

"OW!" Naruto yelled.

"I told you not to get into trouble!" Kakashi said to him. "Since your still a genin you need to work harder and that starts with listening to what I tell you to do."

"I'm sorry Kakashi-Sensei," Naruto looked down at his feet.

Kakashi looked up to the sky and saw crow circling above him.

"Well seeing as I'm being summoned by the 5th Hokage and I had to waste time looking for you," Kakashi began," You won't be getting that special training Jiraiya asked me to give you."

Naruto looked up at him in shock.

"See Naruto," Sakura sneered, "I told you it would have been a bad idea. Now we're both punished for your action. Tsunade won't be happy about it one bit."

"You didn't have to follow me!" Naruto yelled at her.

"I was told to keep you in my sight!" She yelled back, "I had to go with since I couldn't convince you to stay put!"

"You still didn't have to come!"

"You're hopeless," Sakura sighed.

"Well guys I have to go," Kakashi said, "I will tell you the next time we'll do this and you had better be at the place I tell you to be at."

"Yes Kakashi-sensei," They said in unison.

Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving the two alone.

--

Kakashi opened a sliding door and joined a group of jonin who where standing in front of an empty chair and desk.

"Kakashi, do you know what's going on?" Asked a voice.

Kakashi looked to his right and a tall me, about Kakashi's height, with short, bowl cut, black hair, a green jump suit, and green unzipped jonin jacket.

"Your guess is as good as mine Guy," Kakashi sighed.

Kakashi heard a chair move and the room got quiet. Guy and he turned to the front of the room to see two women behind the desk. The woman who was sitting down was tall and had long blonde hair. The woman on her right had long brown hair and held a small pink pig in her arms.

"Lady Tsunade is here." The woman with brown hair said.

Everyone turned their attention to the woman sitting down.

"Thank you Shizune," Tsunade began. "You're all probably wondering what this is about."

The group nodded.

"I've summoned you here because I feel that it's time to find more ANBU.

"Yes finally!" Guy screamed in his head, "I'll finally be able to show the village my true power."

"That's why I'm going to be assigning an ANBU to each of your teams for more training and evaluating to see if your students are fit for being a black op." Tsunade stated.

"WHAT!?" Guy was shocked. This let down crushed his spirit, but only for a moment. "Wait! LEE!! He'll make a great Black op! Yes, it's perfect!"

Kakashi looked at Guy and sighed. He knew guy enough to know what he was thinking.

"Now," Tsunade said, "I've already chosen an ANBU for each team. Just come to me and I'll tell you where to bring your team at what time."

"I wonder who'll be lucky enough get Keitha assigned to them." Guy whispered to Kakashi.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked

"She's the best ANBU this village has. Maybe even one of the best shinobi." Guy pointed out. "Every shinobi would love to be taught by her."

"Knowing Keitha, she wouldn't agree to it." Kakashi sighed.

"Oh, do I sound disappointment in your voice Kakashi?" Guy teased.

"No." Kakashi said sternly.

"Of course not," Guy said, "You two were only close friends and then she disappeared only to reappear recently. Yet no one has seen her yet so it may only be a rumor."

"It's not a rumor. I've seen her." Kakashi said quickly.

"You what?" Guy said, shocked.

"Will we know who will be assigned to out team?" Asked one sensei interrupting Kakashi and Guy's conversation.

"No," Tsunade said abruptly, "I'll keep that a secret and keep you hoping for the best."

"Wow, what a let down." Guy said under his breath.

"I'll pretend I didn't here that Guy." Tsunade retorted.

Guy sunk back and waited his turn without another word. Kakashi make a small smile and got in line with the teachers who were lined up and waiting for Tsunade to tell them were to meet their mystery ANBU. Guy walked up and looked at Tsunade expectantly. Tsunade handed him a piece of paper and waited for him to move so she could proceed with the assigning.

Guy looked at the paper and read it.

"_North training ground, 10 A.M."_

"Oh I hope this is worth it." Guy thought, walking away from Tsunade and into a wall. "OW! Who put that wall there!?"

Everyone was silent. Guy looked around and his face turned pink. A small chuckle rumbled through the group then a full out laughter. Guy's face turned bright red and walked outside.

"Kakashi, you're next." Shizune informed him, while trying to quiet down the room.

Kakashi turned and looked at Tsunade. She handed him the paper and whispered, "Well I hope you enjoy this little surprise."

"I don't know," He signed.

Tsunade smirked as Kakashi looked at the paper to read it.

"_Old abandoned shack past the South training ground, 9 A.M."_

Kakashi sighed and walked outside.

--

Kakashi walked down the street deep in thought. He was supposed to meet Sakura and Naruto at the South training ground to bring them to the abandoned shack. He hadn't even been able to tell them what was fully going to happen since Naruto jumped the run and ran off.

"_Kakashi-sensei, what's this all about? Why were we called here?" Sakura asked, "We weren't scheduled to train this late."_

"_Yeah Kakashi-sensei, what's the deal!?" Naruto yelled._

"_Well there's something important I have to tell you that involves your training, Kakashi started._

"_Oh, you don't have to stop being our sensei do you?" Sakura asked, shocked at Kakashi's approach._

"_No, no it's nothing like that," He chuckled._

"_Then what is it!?" Naruto asked, persistently._

"_The students in the village are getting special training for the next couple weeks." Kakashi explained._

"_Alright!" Naruto could barely hide his excitement._

_Kakashi sighed._

_"You'll have to meet me tomorrow at the South training ground at 9 A.M. to go to the actual place we're to meet-"_

_"GREAT! I'll see you then Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, interrupting him. Before Kakashi could say anymore Naruto ran off._

"_I guess I'll see you tomorrow Kakashi-sensei." Sakura sighed, walking off._

Kakashi sighed as he approached the South training ground.

"You're late, again Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled.

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi smiled.

"Not that excuse again!" Sakura and Naruto screamed.

"Let's just get down to business shall we?" Kakashi sighed.

"Oh yeah," Sakura began. "So what where is this place you're supposed to show us sensei?"

"Follow me." Kakashi said, obliviously.

The three of them walked into the forest behind the training ground. A few minutes later they pushed through a few bushes and came to an old, rundown shack, which had a fallen tree directly in the center of it along with small bushes, shrubs, small trees, and flowers growing in it.

"So why are we supposed to come here?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah what's so special about this place?" Naruto put in.

_"More than you'll really know." _Kakashi thought.

"Humph. What kind of Sensei is so stupid not to tell his students what they're doing?" A voice said, coming from behind them.

They all turned around to see a tall woman with medium length brown hair, walk out of the bushes. She had yet to look up and actually see them. When she did she stopped dead and gasped. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi gasped as well.

_"It can't be!"_ Kakashi thought.

* * *

**Yep more suspense. I just love suspense don't you? **

**Sorry this chapter isn't so exciting...I promiss the next ones will be**


	3. Chapter 3

"You're that woman from yesterday!" Naruto yelled.

"Well, well, well. When Tsunade said she had a surprise waiting, she wasn't kidding." The woman said, "What about you Kakashi, a surprise to you too?"

"Keitha…" Kakashi said quietly.

Naruto looked at Kakashi and noticed sadness with a mix of happiness in his eyes.

"Can someone tell us what's going on!?" Naruto screamed.

Keitha chuckled. "You really didn't tell them did you?"

"Tell us what?" Naruto asked.

"These two ran off before I could finish telling them." Kakashi sighed.

"What's going on Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"I'll save him the trouble and tell you myself." Keitha said. "To put it briefly, the Leaf Village is in need of some more ANBU. The Hokage has asked some our most skilled ANBU to train and evaluate the students of the village to see if they're skilled enough to claim that title."

"Wow…" Naruto said. "This is so cool!! I'll finally be able to show the village what I'm made of!"

"Quiet!" Keitha barked.

Naruto backed away, cowering back in fear.

"Being an ANBU isn't all fun and games. It's serious responsibility." Keitha growled. "If you can't understand that now, then your evaluation will be terrible, hurting your chance of ever becoming an ANBU. Do you understand?"

Naruto and Sakura nodded.

"Good," Keitha said, calming down. "Now I want you to follow me."

"Why?" Sakura asked.

"Because she told you to." Kakashi pointed out.

They all followed her deeper into the woods. Soon enough they saw something ahead of them. As they walked it got bigger. They realized it was a house. They got even closer and realized it was a big brown house with a balcony on the second floor.

Two shadows by the front door moved and came closer to them. Naruto and Sakura stopped, unsure of what these figures were.

"Come on you two!" Keitha yelled back.

The two of them hesitated a moment and then decided to move on.

The figures got closer and closer. As they did they became more recognizable. They were large wolves, one male and the other female. The male was the bigger of the two and was black with neon green paws, tipped tail, and tipped fur that hung over the right side of his face. He also had two green arrows pointing down below his left eye and the white side on a yin yang on his right shoulder. The female was white with red paws, tipped tail, and tipped fur that hung over the left side of her face. She also had arrows pointing down but they were red and on her right eye along with the black side of a yin yang on her left shoulder.

When the two of them saw Keitha they broke out in to a run. When they reached her they walked around her happily, causing her to stop, and nudged her hands as if to ask her to pet them. Keitha smiled and did so. Both wolves were large enough where their shoulders reached her chest.

"This is Meian." Keitha said patting the black wolf of the head. "And this is Yumei." She ran her hand down the white wolf's back.

"Wow, they're really pretty." Sakura smiled, tilting her head a bit.

"And they're HUGE!" Naruto yelled.

Yumei walked over to Sakura and sniffed her outfit. She barked and rubbed her head against Sakura's stomach. Sakura gave her a nice head rub and Yumei lightly licked Sakura's cheek. Keitha chuckled. Meian walked over to Naruto, got up and his hind legs and put his front paws on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto fell down from the weight.

"GAH! Why did he have to do that!?" Naruto complained as Meian licked his face.

"That's how he usually greats people." Kakashi laughed.

As he spoke both Yumei and Meian looked at him, ears perked and eyes bright.

"Oh, no!" Kakashi yelled.

He turned and started to run but the wolves were faster. They ran and jumped on him, crashing Kakashi face down into the ground. He turned around only to get licked in the face by them both. Keitha couldn't suppress her laughter.

"You should have expected it Kakashi. You know how much they like you." Keitha said.

"Yeah, but how come you didn't stop them?" He asked, pushing Yumei off of him.

"Because it's fun to watch." Keitha giggled.

Kakashi finally got Meian off him and stood up.

"Can we press on?" He asked, sounding annoyed.

Keitha nodded and walked up to the door of the house. She entered and the rest of them followed. She went through a large room that looked like a living room, up a flight of stairs and out another door. She walked out onto the balcony, leaned on the railing, and looked at them.

"Now… I should probably formally introduce myself." Keitha said, "My name is Tatsuya Keitha. I am a top ranking captain ANBU."

"WOW…" Naruto said, wide eyed, "We have one of the best teaching us. This is amazing!"

Naruto cold barely hold in his excitement. Keitha sighed. She wasn't going to bother telling him again. But she couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Why are you smiling at me?" Naruto asked, expecting her to yell at him.

"You just remind me of someone I once knew." She lied.

He didn't really remind her of someone. It was Naruto himself she was smiling at.

"Well, seeing as I introduced myself maybe you should introduce yourselves." Keitha pointed out.

The two kids nodded.

"My name is Haruno Sakura."

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

Keitha nodded.

"Well this is all we're going to do today." Keitha said, "Today was just an introduction but tomorrow we'll start with the training. Meet here tomorrow at 7 A.M. and don't be late."

They nodded, turned and walked back down the stairs they had come up. Kakashi followed them. Keitha did the same but as if to make sure they didn't cause any trouble on the way out.

As they walked through the first room they had entered before Sakura noticed something she hasn't before. There were picture frames on a chest but were all face down. She found this quite odd but didn't want to be rude and ask Keitha about it. She didn't seem like the type to answer that question anyway. They walk outside and headed down the pathway. Keitha stopped at the doorway and watched them walk off. Yumei tailed Sakura for a few yard until Keitha called her back. Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi disappeared into the darkness of the forest and Keitha closed the door.

--

Keitha sat down on the couch and lifted up all the picture frames. She loosened the cloth around her eyes and left it fall to her shoulder line, and let out a heavy sigh, causing her to cough furiously.

"Why do you have to be like this?" A kind sounding voice asked.

Keitha looked at Yumei. Keitha's coughing ceased.

"You know why." Keitha sighed, "It's my life, meaning not their problem."

"Well if you told them, you wouldn't have to hide." A stern voice said.

Keitha looked at Meian and glared.

"I'm not hiding." She retorted, "I'm just better off-"

"Alone?" Yumei cut in. "You know that's not true Keitha. Why can't you just put it behind you can move on?"

"Besides, we don't like to act like dumb speechless wolves." Meian put in. "We want to be able to speak and be who we are."

Keitha wrapped the bandages back tightly over her eyes, opened the door and walked off, yelling back to them, "I won't ever be able to."

"Why does she have to be like that?" Yumei asked.

"I don't know." Meian grumbled, "Why does she always glare at me and not you?"

"Because I don't say stupid things to her." Yumei chuckled.

She got up, flicked her tail over Meian's snout and walked out the door. Meian shook it off and followed, closing the door behind him.

--

A ringing noise fluttered through Naruto's ear. It was his alarm clock. He rolled over and hit the snooze button.

"Just five more minutes." She said, drowsily.

Five minutes came and went, but his alarm never went back off. Little did Naruto know that he had turned his alarm off and it wouldn't go off again.

--

The sun peaked through the thick curtains and into Naruto's window, causing him to stir. He opened his eyes and drowsily looked at his clock.

_9:30 A.M._

"Oh my god!" Naruto screamed, jumping out of bed, "I'm late!"

Naruto quickly got dressed and ran out the door. He ran down the street and ran right into a small boy with black hair and fell to the ground.

"Hey watch where you're going you-" The boy stopped when he saw who bumped into him. "Oh hey Boss!"

"Not now Konohamaru, I'm late." Naruto said picking himself up.

"Late for what?" Konohamaru asked.

"For my special training." Naruto gloated.

"No you're not!" Konohamaru yelled at him.

"Yes I am. I'm training to be an ANBU."

"Prove it."

"Well that's hard and I don't' have time."

And with that Naruto ran off. He weaved around people and through the woods. He got to the training ground and saw Sakura training with Keitha. Sakura was walking on a rope that was thirty centimeters off the ground, and was blindfolded. Kakashi was a little ways off, reading his book. Naruto ran over to them.

"Sorry I'm late. I-"

"Go back home." Keitha cut him off.

"What?" Both Naruto and Sakura yelled.

"You heard me." Keitha said.

"But why?" Sakura asked, taking off the blindfold and getting off the rope.

"Yeah, I'm here right? Naruto retorted.

"You may be here but you weren't here when I told to be here." Keitha explained, "Any good ANBU, no, shinobi for that fact knows to never be late. If you can't follow a simple instruction to get somewhere in time how can I expect you to be able to train well?"

Naruto looked down at the ground. She was right.

"But-" Sakura began.

"No Sakura, she's right." Naruto interrupted her. "If I was to be the best I have to start becoming it."

He turned and started to walk away. Keitha smiled.

"Naruto." She called.

Naruto stopped and looked at her.

"Meet me here, tomorrow, at sun high. I'll give you a special one-on-one session."

Naruto's eyes lit up and nodded. He turned and ran happily back to his house.

--

Keitha walked through the forest, thoughts cluttering her mind.

"Why did Tsunade do this?" She asked herself. "She knew I wouldn't be pleased with it…"

Keitha heard some footsteps behind her. She stopped.

"Whose there?" She asked, turning around.

There stood Kakashi.

"What, don't recognize my footsteps anymore?" He asked, chuckling.

Keitha didn't respond. She turned back around and went back to walking. Kakashi ran after her and caught up.

"You're not happy with this, are you?" He asked.

Keitha didn't reply. Kakashi lightly grabbed her right arm, stopping her. She looked at him.

"Come with me" He said.

She sighed and followed.

--

Keitha looked at the village. They were on a high hill that over looked it. It was so beautiful at night. The lights lit it up wonderfully against the night sky.

"Why'd you bring me here?" Keitha asked.

"Have you forgotten already?" Kakashi sighed, "We used to come here all the time when we were younger. We'd look at the village when everything was starting to quiet down and reflect on the day."

Keitha sat down on the ground and pulled her knees up to her chin.

"How could I forget?" She asked, "Those where some of the best times of my life."

Kakashi smiled and sat down next to her.

"We use to always meet every night to catch up on things, seeing as I was always off doing something." Keitha said.

"Yeah and sometimes it wasn't just the two of us." Kakashi retorted, playfully.

"What, you mean Moriko and Ryoma?" Keitha suppressed a laugh. "They were my best friends. Do you really expect me not to be with them sometimes?"

"It would have been nice if you had told them to leave before you came to meet me."

Keitha snorted. Then things got real quiet. The only noise to be heard were a few crickets and Keitha's occasional cough.

"You're not happy with Lady Tsunade's decision are you?" Kakashi asked, breaking the silence.

"Not particularly." Keitha said, bluntly.

"Why…?" Kakashi asked, sadness hinted in his voice.

"You know exactly why Kakashi," Keitha said.

Sadness and sympathy flowed out of that one sentence like a flood. Kakashi knew she was no longer holding back.

"Keitha…"

Kakashi went to put his hand on her shoulder but she pushed away.

"Please don't do that Kakashi."

"Just try to make the best of it for now."

"At least I won't have to do it again."

"What do you mean?"

"This is my last mission ever from her."

"WHAT!? That can't be!"

"It's true. I'm retiring from the squads and going off and finishing what has to be done."

"But Keitha you don't have to. Why don't you just let it go? Just forget about it and live you're life until… until it catches up to you…"

Keitha got up and started to walk off.

"I can't… not until he's dead."

* * *

**Yeah, a bit sad. This chapter was interesting to make.  
Keitha: Are you gonna start complaining again?  
Me: No I liked this chapter  
Keitha: Good, you better have.  
Me: What's your problem?  
Keitha: You made me pathetic  
Naruto: I thought it was sweet  
Keitha: (stabs)  
Naruto: GAH! I'm bleading!!****  
Me: (sighs and shrugs)  
Keitha: O.o... (tries to kill)  
Me: (freezes Keitha) Ha there! Take that! I win:D ...Well anyways... like I was saying.  
Keitha: (unfreezes)  
Me: (sighs) Never mind...**


	4. Chapter 4

Keitha stood alone at the training ground. She looked at the horizon. It was almost sun high and Naruto was no where to be found. She was starting to think this was going to be a waste of time. Just as she thought that she head quick, frantic, heavy footsteps. She looked to her right and saw Naruto frantically running towards her. He skidded to a halt and looked up at her, panting.

"I'm here!" He exclaimed.

"And on time this time." She smirked.

"So… what are we going to do today?" Naruto could barely breath.

"First you're going to catch your breath." Keitha stated, "Then I'll tell you what we'll be doing."

Naruto caught his breath and looked at Keitha expectantly. But Keitha wasn't paying attention to him. Instead she was looking in a different direction. She was looking at the Hokage faces.

"Keitha-sensei?" Naruto gulped, afraid she'd snap at him.

Keitha snapped out of her deep thought and looked at him.

"Ready?" She asked calmly.

"Um, yeah… I think so." he was thrown off by her calm response.

_She's so weird and unpredictable._

"Are you sure you're ready?" Keitha asked

"YES! Yes I am! What are we going to do first?" Naruto asked eagerly

--

It was almost dark and Naruto struggled to walk down the road towards his house. He was in so much pain, and he couldn't believe he lived through Keitha's training earlier. She had his run until he thought he was going to throw up and then worked him more by exhausting his chakra in various ways and then expected him to find more energy to make more to continue. He didn't realize how hard her training was going to be. But he was also happy about it. He knew she had worked him harder than Sakura. He didn't know why, but he liked it.

He unlocked his door and climbed into bed and fell immediately to sleep.

--

Keitha looked up at the stars. She was on her balcony, sitting on the railing, cleaning a kunai. Yumei was lying on the ground near her, sleeping, and Meian was propped up on the railing, hanging his front paws over it, looking at the stars with her. Keitha let out a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong?" Meian asked, looking at her.

"Nothing."

"There's something wrong."

"Can't I sigh without something being wrong?"

Yumei woke up and looked at them both.

"You know she's right," she said.

Meian glared at her.

Keitha looked back up to the sky. She then heard the flap of wings and shortly after an owl appeared in the sky. Keitha smiled and stood up on the railing, outstretching her arm. The owl landed on her arm and picked up its right foot. Attached was a rolled up piece of paper attached by a thin piece of string. Keitha shook her head and chuckled. _How did that not fall off?_ She untied the paper.

Keitha jumped down onto the balcony and the owl hopped onto her shoulder. She looked at the seal and knew exactly who it was from. She felt a lump in her throat as she read the letter.

"What is it Keitha?" Yumei asked.

Keitha rolled the paper back up.

"It's from Ryoma."

Both Yumei and Meian's ear's perked up.

"Well what did it say?" They asked excitedly in unison.

"They're coming for a visit," she smiled.

Meian and Yumei looked at each other, smiling. They could feel her excitement. She hadn't been this happy in a long time.

"Why are you so excited?" Came a voice.

Keitha turned around to see Kakashi standing behind her on the nearest tree limb.

"What are you doing here?" Keitha asked him.

"Just came to ask how Naruto's training went. Looks like I came at a good time."

Kakashi hopped off the branch, over the rail and stood next to her. "But now I'm wondering what has made you so happy."

He tried to grab the letter. Keitha pulled it out of his reach.

"It's none of your business."

Kakashi tried again but Keitha again got it out of his reach. He thought for a moment and then acted like he didn't care anymore. Keitha wasn't going to fall for it. She unraveled the letter again and made it look like she was reading it. Kakashi thought this was his chance and went to take it but failed miserably. He had fallen for it and now had his face on the ground. He was now going to resort to drastic measures. He got up and smiled at her. Keitha gulped. She knew what was coming. He lunged at her. She tried to move out of the way but she coughed causing her to lose her focus. Kakashi grabbed her around the waist and took the letter from her.

"Let me go Kakashi!" She yelled at him as she struggled to get away.

She felt his grip loosen and then hit the floor.

"Jerk!"

"You never said to put you down lightly."

She jumped on her feet and tried to get the letter back but he kept it out of her reach. The tables had turned. She stopped trying and leaned against the rail. She knew he wouldn't like the letter so there was no point it trying. He'd give it back as soon as he found out who it was from. And sure enough she watched a frown come over his face.

"Here," He said giving it back to her.

"I told you it was none of your business."

Kakashi shrugged. Keitha felt kind of bad now. She knew how he felt but there was nothing she could do about it.

"So, how was Naruto's training?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject.

"It's was good," She said, putting the letter in a pocket on her pants. "He complained for only a few second."

"What, did you scare him?"

"You could say that."

Keitha leaned against the raining and looked out to the forest.

"He's a hard worker. He was really giving it his all to prove to me that he could do it."

"You didn't go too hard on him did you?"

"Just a little. But I don't think he minded."

Keitha looked down at her hands and coughed a bit.

"What's wrong Keitha?"

"It's nothing."

"Keitha, you know your lies don't work on me."

Keitha sighed. Kakashi waited for her to speak.

"It's hard lying to the boy."

Kakashi put his hand on her shoulder. He was surprised she didn't protest.

"Maybe you should tell him."

"You know I can't do that. I was told to never say anything about it to him."

"Yes and you were also told to never see him, but you never let that stop you. You still kept an eye on him, and you also made it so you two met face to face..."

Kakashi realized he was making this worse.

"I should go," He said.

"All right."

Kakashi turned and left.

"You should go to bed Keitha," Yumei said rubbing her head against Keitha's side.

"I'm not tired."

"You should listen to Yumei. It'll take your mind off of things." Meian said to her.

Keitha sighed. "Alright."

--

Two figures stood on a hill over looking the village. One had a black cloak and the other had a dark grey cloak. Both had large hoods that covered most of their faces.

"You think she knows?" A man's voice asked, coming from the grey cloak.

"Who knows," A woman's voice came from the black cloak.

They looked to their right to see a group of shinobi moving quickly through the forest towards the village.

"Looks like trouble." She said.

"Looks like we came at a good time." He smiled.

They stood there and watched the village along with the shinobi that were on the move.

--

The sun peeked in thought the blinds of the room lighting it up partially. Sakura covered her head with the blanket. The sun was too bright for her at the moment. She knew she had to get up but there was no reason to. Keitha had given her the day off today after days of working hard. Keitha told her it was well earned but Sakura didn't care. She wanted to train more. Keitha had come up with a special training method just for her, just as she did with Naruto. But the one thing she couldn't wait for was that Keitha said she'd be teaching her some new medical techniques that even Tsunade couldn't do. She then heard a knock at her door. She slipped out of bed and opened the door.

"Keitha?"

"Head sleepy."

"What are you doing here?"

"Came to see if you were up for lunch."

"Lunch? But it's too early for lunch."

"Uh, Sakura." Keitha pointed to the clock next to her bed.

Sakura looked at it and read it.

_12:37 P.M._

"Oh…"

"I guess your body really liked having the day off."

"I guess so." Sakura smiled at her but quickly got rid of it. Keitha's stern look scared her. She couldn't figure it out. Sometimes she'd smile and sometimes she'd look like she was going to kill you for no reason. She shook it off.

"I'll get dressed."

"I'll be waiting."

Sakura closed the door and grabbed her clothes and changed. She left and met up with Keitha who had moved down the road and was waiting under a tree on a bench. Keitha stood up when she saw Sakura walking over to her and they headed south.

"So where are we going?" Sakura asked.

"The Ramen bar." Keitha said, plainly.

"Oh…" Sakura said quietly. "Naruto is going to be there isn't he."

Keitha chuckled. "Did you really think it was just going to be the two of us and we'd go to a really nice place?"

"I…I didn't know what I was thinking."

Keitha put her hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Forget about it."

Sakura felt better for some reason and did what Keitha said.

--

Keitha pulled the drapes aside and Sakura and she when inside the Ramen bar.

"Keitha-sama!" Naruto yelled

"Hey Naruto." She sighed. She was so fed up with his enthusiasm about this. It's all he was talking about during his training.

"The usual Keitha?" The cook asked.

"Please Teuchi." She said with a heavy sigh.

Teuchi quickly whipped something up for her and handed it over.

"So how have you been? Haven't seen you in a while." He smiled.

"Busy like always." She sighed.

Naruto and Sakura quietly ate their food trying to hide that they were listening in on their conversation.

"Still trying to figure things out?" Teuchi asked.

"Sure am."

"I see you covered it up."

Keitha smiled slightly. "You and your father hated it when I did that."

"I still do." He chuckled.

Keitha let out a sputtered suppressed laugh. The two of them smiled at each other. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other with confusion. Teuchi leaned over and whispered to her.

"I think we've gotten them confused."

Keitha laughed and nodded. She heard movement behind her and turned around to see Kakashi and Iruka enter.

"Is there a party in here or something?" Keitha laughed.

"It seems so." Iruka smiled.

All of a sudden they heard a large explosion and the ground started to shake.

"What was that?" Naruto yelled.

They sat there quietly listening to figure out what was going on. Then a shinobi ran into the bar and looked at them.

"The village is under attack!"

They all jumped off their seats.

"Who would do this?" Keitha yelled.

The man didn't answer but he didn't have to. Keitha realized who it was right after she had asked. She bolted out of the bar and looked around.

"Keitha?" Teuchi asked.

"He's back for more." She growled, clenching he fists. "Kakashi, Iruka go get more help."

"What about you?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll get rid of as many as I can along with the other shinobi who are there."

"What about us?" Sakura asked.

"You two stay here." Keitha told them.

"But-"Naruto began.

"No!" She barked at him. "You will stay here and if they get past us you can help then."

"Keitha should I?" Teuchi asked.

"Yes, make sure they don't leave."

And with that they set off. Keitha headed for the north gate while the other shinobi set off for the east gate to cut around with help to cut them off. Keitha ran as fast as she could. She knew how strong this force was and knew if it wasn't dealt with now there would be no hope for the village.

"But why are they here now?" She asked herself as the battle field came into view.

--

Naruto paced back and forth thinking about what to do. He listened to all the shinobi that were running by the Raman bar towards the north end of the village.

"GAH!! Why do we have to be here? We should be out there helping the village." He complained.

"It's for both your safety," Teuchi said, cleaning a bowl.

"But why?" Sakura asked. "We're Chunin now. We should be able to help the village."

"Well one of you is a Chunin," Teuchi chuckled.

Naruto looked down at his feet. Teuchi chuckled again.

"But don't feel bad. There will be a lot of shinobi who won't be in this battle."

Sakura and Naruto looked at him in confusion.

"If it were up to Keitha, she'd make sure that she was the only one in this battle. It may not look it, but she does care. She doesn't want anyone's life to be lost to this threat again."

"Again?" Sakura asked. "Who did she lose?"

Teuchi stopped what he was doing and looked down at the ground. He sighed.

"It's not my place to say."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I promised that I wouldn't say anything."

Things got real quiet and then dark. All of a sudden the right side of the Bar collapsed. Everyone was in shock.

"We have to get out of here!" Sakura yelled.

The rest nodded in agreement. They left and headed south. Teuchi was in front and Naruto and Sakura followed closely, for a time. Little by little they fell back without him seeing. They then took a bold move and headed down an ally and head back north. They weren't going to just sit around and watch the village be destroyed.

--

Keitha threw some kunai and hit a few shinobi in the back, killing them.

"Keitha!" A voice yelled.

Keitha look around and saw Iruka with help. He ran over to her.

"They picked a good time to attack." He panted.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Most of the shinobi in the village are out on missions." Iruka explained.

"It's almost like they knew…" Keitha began.

"Look out!" He yelled.

Keitha moved and watched as a flaming arrow shot passed her. She threw a kunai in the direction that it came from and someone jumped out of its way. She started a few hand signs but stopped when she had to dodge a few senbon. She again tried the hand signs and this time managed to perform them.

_"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

Quickly she obtained five clones of herself. The clones went out and took out a few invading shinobi but then were taken out as well. She again preformed the technique but was careful. She didn't want to waste her chakra.

Kunai came at her from the right. Keitha moved out of the way but one slashed through her sash causing her kunai bag to fall to the ground. She went to grab the bag but three shuriken came at her. She jumped out of the way but a kunai came out of no where and sunk deep into her side. Keitha clumsily landed on the ground and knelt down. She held her side and looked around.

She felt a presence behind her so she quickly turned around and went to grab the kunai in her side.

"Woah! Hold it Keitha. It's me, Kakashi!" Kakashi yelled.

"Don't do that." Keitha sighed.

"Sorry." He then looked at the kunai. "Do you need help with that?"

"No I'm fine." Keitha looked away. "You should go back to defending the village."

"I should help you." He said sympatheticly.

"No!" Keitha rounded on him. "We need to help the village. We are strongly out numbered and I will fight regardless of my wounds."

Keitha struggled to her feet and started to walk off.

"Naruto and Sakura are missing." Kakashi said. Keitha stopped. "The ramen bar was attacked and everyone scattered. Teuchi lost track of them and no one has found them yet."

Keitha ripped the kunai out of her side and clentched it tightly in her hand. "I'll find them." She ran off and disappeared into the dark, leaving Kakashi alone.

Keitha ran for a long time searching. She took down as many shinobi as possible but her mind was on finding her students. All of a sudden she heard a scream so she stopped and turned her head. She knew exactly who it was. She turned and she saw Sakura defending herself with a small kunai against a large man with a long sword in his hands. The man got ready and thrust it at her. Keitha ran over, pushed Sakura out of the way and turned to take the full blow of the sword in her stomach.

"AHH!" Keitha yelled. She couldn't help it. It hurt too much. Keitha resisted the urge to choke up blood so it trickled out of the sides of her mouth. The man just laughed. He withdrew the sword form her stomach and she fell to the ground.

Keitha fell to the ground and choked up more blood. She spit it out and clutched her stomach. Keitha pushed herself up so she was on her knees and looked at the man. She clenched her teeth harder when she saw the village headband around his neck.

The man smirked and lifted up his sword. Keitha looked over to Sakura who was shaking and crying.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed. "I should have listened."

"It's alright." Keitha smiled. "We all make mistakes." She turned back and faced the man who was about to kill her.

* * *

**Here's the next chapter. sorry it took so long to update. Been extremely busy and had no inspiration do work on this story. Hoped you guys liked this chapter.**


End file.
